To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts
by cokesuicide
Summary: It's hard to walk away from the one you can't live without, even when you know better.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or anything relating to it. Just these words which put together this story.

**Note:** Wow....look at me write stuff... I found some prompts laying around LJ (at 100_fairytales) and thought I'd give them a go. This one is _Know-it-all_. It sorta works.

_Written for quail1982_

* * *

"You can't possibly know everything," she yelled, slamming the door before he could come in behind her.

"Bella." He lifted his hand up to his shoulder so he could push against the wood slab blocking him from her.

"Don't you dare."

His lip curled up as a deep growl sprang up from the back of his throat. Even though he couldn't listen to words she hadn't said, he still knew what they were: _It's all your fault._

Edward extended his fingers, stretching them stiffly in anger. He knew at times like these there was nothing he could say to change her mind. It was infuriating. Why Bella never listened to reason, he couldn't understand, but he supposed she wouldn't be Bella if she wasn't headstrong. And he wouldn't have fallen in love with her either. And that was exactly why they were standing in this position.

He turned around and practically ran down the stairs and out of the house, not bothering to listen to her father's unspoken questions. He just needed to get out of there and wait for her to calm down so he could talk some sense into her. He looked at his Volvo but turned the opposite direction, opting to walk off his steam than to be enclosed in a small car. His path led him right past Bella's window, and he stopped, his back toward the glass. She was watching; he felt her eyes boring down on him. He turned his head so he looked off his left shoulder. The anger he felt moments before dropped off of him like raindrops off the tall trees that surrounded him and the house. His eyes closed, and he tried to focus on her thoughts, but, like every time before, there was nothing but silence. Foolishness crept up on him, and Edward opened his eyes and walked into the treeline, his anger turned on himself.

The tiny branches scratched him as he picked his own path through the forest. He barely felt them and even considered moving faster to see if they had it in them to make him bleed. A small smirk of consideration flashed across his face, but, before he could move the idea any farther, a putrid smell hit his nose. He stopped. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to see Bella," a voice spoke before the body could be seen.

"Then what are you doing here."

The boy with the darker skin stepped out from behind the trees with a smile that wasn't so innocent. The much older one stared blankly back. "Just thought I'd take a quick detour." Edward shot the werewolf a glare and started on his way until he heard laughter. "You did something wrong again? I guess I'll hurry up to pick up the pieces like always."

For the second time that day, Edward felt his teeth grind together and he let his emotions take over. His feet pushed off the ground and his hands shot up, pushing Jacob into the trunk of the tree behind him. The smile on Jacob's face fueled Edward to push his left arm against the other man's collar bone. "You're _not_ funny. You're just an over glorified dog coming to lick at its master's wounds."

"Wounds you made."

Edward knew Jacob was just trying to get a rouse out of him, but he couldn't help the anger that poured over and into his fist. In only a split second of better judgment, the vampire punched the tree instead of leaving a mark on the triumphant dog, and he pushed himself away. "It is better this way," he growled, turning his back to the enemy and trying to gain control of his anger.

"You don't _know_ that."

"You think you and her will be happy?"

"Yeah, I do."

The anger was still there, but it was slowly being replaced by the sadness he felt before his peace was disturbed. He couldn't understand how Jacob didn't think of the repercussions of a werewolf with a human until reason took over. Jacob didn't think about that because he didn't need to. It was easier for him and for her than it ever would be for a vampire and his human lover. "It's easier for you."

"No, you make it complicated," he said matter-of-factly before the sound of a breaking twig signaled his exit.

In two hours, Edward only moved from where Jacob had left him to a fallen tree trunk a yard away. Dusk had settled in, and he knew the time for him to stop thinking about the ins and outs of his relationship with Bella had come. He never regretted a decision and he didn't want to start, but there was no way around it. His body felt like an anchor, trying to pull him back into the sea of thought that clouded him for so long, but he was determined to get back to the house and back to his car. He would talk to Bella tomorrow.

The walk back was longer than he expected. By the time he walked into the clearing, the sun had fallen below the horizon. He couldn't help himself and peeked into her open window. Her scent billowed out of the lighted room, trying to tempt him back. His legs twitched. They were readying to jump in as they did all the other times, and he had to force himself to walk away instead. The window wasn't open for him tonight; she had made that more than clear this afternoon. Coming up to his car, he dug around in his pockets for the keys, momentarily distracting him from everything else.

"Want these or do you plan on hot wiring the car to get away from me."

If his heart could, it would have skipped a beat. Everything in his body relaxed, destroying the front he was supposed to have. With calm eyes, Edward turned around to see an emotionless Bella on the lawn, the light from the living room shining behind her, the keys he was looking for dangling from her right hand. A breeze danced through the trees and whirled in between them before laughing it up again in the greenery above. Seeing her shiver, he took off his black leather jacket and walked behind her to hang it off her shoulders.

She shrugged it off. "Edward, stop."

"You're cold. Just take it, please."

"Don't offer what you can't give."

He placed the jacket on her shoulders and rested his hands on top of it. He leaned in so his lips were only inches from her left ear. "I am willing to give you everything I have ever offered." Edward slid his right hand over her chest, stopping for a quick moment to feel her heart pound against her skin. His fingers took the lead and snaked up and around the left side of her neck. She leaned her head away from his hand and he could hear her breathing start to shake with every beat of her heart. He buried his face into the hair that covered her neck. The sound of keys clanging onto the grass broke the silence of the night. "But I haven't offered this."

"I know," she breathed.


End file.
